Drug abuse and its effect on young people in HIV transmission

Young people are exposed to
a lot of pressure from their peers to try new things. One of such is the
pressure of drug abuse, forcing them to engage in psychoactive substances like
alcohol, cigarettes, etc. After going through this post of mine, you will have
the knowledge of the implications of taking such substances and the negative
consequences they can have on the lives
of young people.

Before proceeding
further, it is better you have an idea of some certain definitions of certain
terms so that you can easily go with the flow while you read.

Psychoactive Substance:Any
material which when consumed affects the way people feel, think, see, taste,
smell, hear, play or behave. It could be a medicine, industrial product or even
a biological degradation product such as fermented sewage.

Drug: Any substance with the
potential to prevent or cure disease or enhance physical or mental welfare OR any
chemical agent that alters the biochemical or physiological processes of
tissues or organs.

Drug abuse: The use of any
psychoactive substance (drug) under control outside prescription or therapeutic
indications, in excessive doses, or over an unjustified period of time.

Now you have gotten idea of the
definitions, read on!

Classification
and examples of hard drugs with their effects on people

Use of these substances can
impair a person’s sense of judgement and make the person engage in behaviours that can
put him or her at risk of HIV infection such as:

Sharing of needles by
injection drug users (IDUs)

Having unprotected
sex with an infected person

Drug abuse
treatment and prevention

Drug abuse among young people
can be prevented by the following ways listed below. But in case someone is
already addicted to drug abuse, then it is advisable to visit a drug rehabilitation centre nearest to him or her.

Educate adolescents and young
people on the dangers of substance abuse

Involve social and religious
groups in preventing psychoactive substance use

Improve relationships between
parents and their children

Diagnose and treat individuals
who are addicted to these drugs early

Provide facilities for
counselling young people on the dangers of drug use

Rehabilitate addicts

Limit cultivation of tobacco
and cannabis

Provide growers of tobacco and
cannabis with alternate sources of income

Enact laws to prohibit
production, sale, advertisement of these substances

Enforce laws against substance
use e.g. ban on smoking in public places

Engaging in drug abuse and the
use of psychoactive substances can increase your risk of HIV infection by
impairing your judgment and making the you engage in risky behaviour such as
sharing needles or having unprotected sexual intercourse.

Drug abuse and its effect on young people in HIV transmission
Reviewed by Chibuzor Aguwa
on
7/21/2016 03:10:00 pm
Rating: 5